Vestas wind power workers are continuing with their protest at the company’s plant on the Isle of Wight.

Workers at Vestas Windsystems, England’s only wind turbine manufacturing plant, are continuing to strike today (Wednesday 22 July) over planned job losses and plant closures.

The company’s plants on the Isle of Wight and in Southampton will close on Friday 24 July when production moves to China and the US, resulting in the loss of 625 jobs.

More than 30 people have taken part in the strike, in the form of a sit-in at the company’s plant in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, and around 200 more have also joined in the protest outside the plant.

The company announced earlier this year that it planned to reduce staff numbers in Denmark and England. In its 2009 Q1 results released in April, Vestas stated that although its profits had risen by 70%, job cuts were necessary in order to reduce “excess capacity”.

John Rowse, Unite National Secretary for Manufacturing, said: “It is not too late to save these plants. If the government addresses the blockages in the planning system to counter the ‘Not-in-my-back-yard’ brigade then there will be massively increased demand for wind turbines.

“We urge the government to match its green rhetoric with action to support green jobs, saving Vestas would send out a clear message that it is serious about saving the environment as well as supporting UK manufacturing.”

The news of the plant closures and job losses conflicts with current government alternative energy targets, which include using the country’s wind resources – reportedly the best in Europe – to increase the UK’s wind power production from 5 to 35% by 2020.

Vestas is a multinational company that holds a 20% share in the wind power market, and is the leading supplier of wind turbine solutions, having installed 38,000 turbines. To read ICM’s news article that details Vestas’ successful QI financial results, click here ^[1].

The company has reportedly refused to comment on the current situation due to ongoing consultations.